Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on September 28, 2021.
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We all know that the Pittsburgh housing market has been hot in recent years, and those who are looking to sell have the biggest advantages at the moment.
One of the troublesome spots about selling a house is also one of the very first steps- finding a great Pittsburgh real estate agent to represent you. For some, real estate agents are found through friends and family who have recently sold. For others, it may be simply seeing an agent active in your neighborhood and going from there. Or you may use 3rd party websites that take huge commissions behind the scenes as they refer you to local agents.
This can be, to put it simply, a frustrating and time-consuming process.
But a new tech start-up in Pittsburgh, TwnSqr, is looking to change the process of connecting home sellers to agents by giving the seller all of the power- for free and with no commitment required!
TwnSqr is a Great Tool for Home Sellers in Pittsburgh
The way TwnSqr works is both novel and simple. Pittsburgh real estate agents often spend a lot of time and money trying to find sellers they can represent, so TwnSqr has created a marketplace where agents and even local home buyers/investors can make proposals directly to sellers as a means to win their business.
As a seller, all you have to do is make a free listing on TwnSqr with relevant details and photos of your house, then real estate agents and local buyers in Pittsburgh who like your property will send you a proposal with an estimated sale price, commission rates, their track record, and more. This is all done with no commitment or fees on your part, although TwnSqr does offer premium concierge packages for things like extra assistance or professional photography if you need it.
So whether you're seriously selling or simply wanting to test the waters to see what local buyers and agents think about your house, TwnSqr makes the process as easy and hassle-free as possible without locking you into any contract outright. It really is as simple as supplying your information, uploading photos, and waiting for the buyers and agents to come to you!
The real benefit of the service comes from the fact that real estate agents have historically gone to great lengths to find home sellers. In some cases, they have even paid out large referral fees to 3rd party sites for leads (often to the tune of thousands of dollars), but TwnSqr makes this entire process simple and cost-effective- they only charge buyers and agents a $15 proposal submission fee and take no commissions based on sell price.
This allows agents to reach out to many potential clients, cheaply, while putting their best foot forward with their proposals- including sharing greater detail on their sales history, experience in your neighborhood, possibly improved commission rates, and in many cases, a cash bonus paid directly to you upon execution of a contract!
So rather than simply going with an agent because your sister, mother-in-law, or neighbor had a good experience with a certain person or company, TwnSqr allows you to review many offers from local agents who want to represent you, completely free and without commitments. Throw in the fact that they also have direct buyers and investors who could be interested in purchasing your property outright, and you can see why this service is turning the process on its head for the better.
In a seller's market, you really should have agents competing to represent you just as much as buyers who wish to purchase your property, and TwnSqr really takes the hassle out of the process to get as many agent proposals in front of you at the start. That is truly better than going off of word-of-mouth alone!
So, how does a typical proposal process with TwnSqr work? We thought it'd be fun to share a bit more on that below.
What You Can Expect from a TwnSqr Proposal
Once you've uploaded your home information to TwnSqr, it is really as simple as sitting back and waiting.
Real estate agents and direct buyers log into the service to look for potential homes coming on the market. If they are interested in representing you (or, in the case of local buyers, buying directly), they put together a custom proposal, pay TwnSqr's nominal fee, and send it off to you to review. That's it!
As TwnSqr does not take commissions and only charges a $15/proposal submission fee (they also have an unlimited plan as well), this makes the process simple and allows agents to send out more proposals than they may otherwise when paying large referral fees to 3rd parties. This allows for greater dialogue between agents and sellers thanks to the lower barrier to entry.
But, agents and buyers that use TwnSqr know that other agents may be actively submitting proposals as well, so they have an incentive to put their best foot forward.
To really highlight how this could work, we should give an example. Say you have 10 proposals from agents on TwnSqr (they’ve seen more than 15 before) and you have narrowed it down to three agents who have great reviews and it comes down to their financial offers. A possible scenario could look something like the following (figures are our own for example purposes but based on data provided by TwnSqr):
- Agent Alice offers the standard 6% commission and has a stellar sales history in your neighborhood.
- Agent Bob offers a 5.5% commission that you'd pay upon selling and throws in a $500 cash bonus paid to you if you select him as your agent.
- Agent Charlie offers a 5% commission outright but has a less robust sales history in your neighborhood despite a good sales history in the city overall.
By having these options side-by-side on TwnSqr, you can easily make the best choice.
Alice went with a somewhat standard offer and is banking on their merits alone. Bob and Charlie are attempting to be more competitive but perhaps aren't as strong in your particular neighborhood even though they have a solid sales history outright.
How you select them could vary based significantly on your needs. If you want to move your house fast and get the best value for your house, perhaps Alice could do that based on their proposal. You'd pay higher commissions in the end, but their track record speaks for itself. Agents Bob and Charlie may not be as strong in your neighborhood but are trying to be more competitive by offering improved commissions or even a cash bonus upon contract execution in the case of Bob. You can even chat directly with each agent individually on TwnSqr to figure out which one you click with.
Whether you'd go with Alice, Bob, or Charlie in this scenario is truly up to you. The benefit of using TwnSqr is that you can see all your options and go with the one that makes the most sense for you.
Overall, TwnSqr is completely revitalizing the process of how real estate agents and buyers connect with home sellers in Pittsburgh. They can connect with you without the crazy marketing costs or referral fees , and you hold all the cards, for free and without commitment, until you connect with someone and sign a contract!
If you're going to sell an asset as large as your home, having greater control of all steps in the process truly goes a long way, and TwnSqr makes finding the best real estate agent a breeze. Check them out if you are looking to sell your house soon!
This article was sponsored by TwnSqr. As always, all opinions are our own. Images were provided courtesy of TwnSqr and from our own collection.